After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Chapter 2030: Battles in the Desert (Part 2)

One of the ways to deal with a Pion was to cut the tip of its tail to cut the poison supply. The poison sack was there, and removing it was akin to hitting a weakness as its deadliness was directly reduced by more than half.The Training Hall also simulated the environment to a degree, so they were aware of the monsters’ tendency to bury themselves into sand. What was new to them was how they moved as a group.

They were not the kind of monsters that charged head-on. They tended to spread outwards first. There would be one or two that would attack first to distract, while the rest created a ring. By the time the victims found out they were surrounded, it would be too late.

By the time Althea realized this pattern, the dozen or so monsters were already surrounding their group, including Erol’s and Maika’s. Because they were condensed, it was also difficult to do major attacks.

Normally, Althea would ask Garan and the other level 30s and above to step aside and help them train, but it was too hot and the poison on those tails was no joke, so she just let them help out.

With their assistance, the Pions were unable to set an entrapment. They directly killed a few to lighten up the load, leaving the rest for the others.

To train herself, she still tried to take down two on her own. What Althea did was to redirect one sharp tail to hit another monster. These monsters were naturally immune to their own kind of poison, but the sharp tails could still cause considerable damage to other Pion’s armors.

For Althea, if she wanted to damage the armor of a monster at her level, she’d have to waste a bit of energy. With this, she saved up a lot, which was a relief, because the weather was very uncomfortable.

That said, despite the powerhouses in their team, a few mercenaries under Erol were almost poisoned. Maika’s team appeared in time before things could get serious, so now Erol had no choice but to actually talk with her directly instead of looking at the sky or a random sand dune.

Erol’s team was especially surprised with Garan and Althea. They were expecting to do a lot of protecting and getting a lot of injuries during this mission, but it looked like they could carry their own weight.

No, they could carry more weight.

Some mercenaries who had grumbled about taking this job ’for free’ were quieted down, because frankly, this had been one of the least dangerous missions they had in the desert.

They looked at the husband and wife again, and watched as the man skewered another monster with his metal, while the woman shot several arrows to finish off a weakened one.

Interestingly, the other man with them, called Sinnan, could use one of his arms as a shield (when he covered for the weak woman he took with him).

They heard a hard sound of two solids clashing, but there was no blood. When someone asked, they found out it was not a real arm.

It was metallic and had a complex mechanism. They felt that his arm movement on one arm was a bit stiff, but not because of this.

The next wave of monsters they encountered was a score of undead.

According to Medusa, the undead seemed to be attracted to each other by instinct. They could also feel the aether in the air like many monsters— especially those concentrated in humans—so even in the desert, the chances of encountering them in groups were relatively common.

"It’s the nuclear among them, it also energizes them. The more they are in numbers, the faster they could move."

And it was true. Compared to the pair they dealt with earlier, the individual undead in this group moved a bit faster.

This was a new discovery. It was a good thing, letting Medusa go with Sinnan.

At the same time, Erol and Maika turned their heads to them. "Wait, what?"

They did not know this. Whenever they encountered the useless but threatening Undead, they would rather add distance between them. Who had the time to study these things?!

They looked at Medusa. Many of them had been looking down on the woman and wondering what she was doing all the way here when she was so weak. It seemed like no one in this group was as they seemed.

Especially the couple. They were far stronger than their level and they could tell they could easily defeat others in the same rank.

Anyway, none of them were normal.

...

The discrepancies were more pronounced when they camped. They found a camping site somewhere in a mesa area. They cleared one of the corners there after fighting another mob.

Nighttime in the desert was practically winter. They had changed their attire at dusk, changing to winter gear with stuff from their respective spaces.

However, the quality of winter gear on the other side had impressed even Erol, an information broker.

It was less bulky, but he could tell that it could insulate well judging by the ease of which Althea, who was in her level 20s and did not have ice elements, moved around.

"Where did you buy this? Makita City? Kilpo?"

"Alterra."

Maika and the others nodded. It had long been in their itinerary. "It seems like they have something in every industry there," Maika said to her teammates, who nodded.

"You promised we’d go there next, Captain!"

"Yes, yes."

Erol turned his head to Maika, who pretended not to see his gaze.

He really needed to go there.

The two groups took out special tents that seemed to be insulated and waterproof. They saw a peek of what was inside and there were pillows, lighting.

What Erol did not expect was for Maika to take out the same tent as the couple!

"You..."

"First come, first served," was all Maika said, and Erol could only watch Garan and Althea set up their camp in curiosity. He waited for them to finish setting up before he scooted over to ask a few things.

He watched as they set up campfires and then grills, taking out meat and sauces. The four looked natural as they are, in stark contrast to the mercenaries who were shivering a bit but were just used to hardship.

Sinnan and Garan were the main chefs this time, with the two women assisting by, say, handing over the barbecue sticks or something.

The aroma wafted in the small area, and several gulps echoed. After filling up a plate, the men did not stop grilling. Instead, Althea looked at the mercenaries around them and waved them over.

"Come. I promised to feed your group, remember?"

"A-Ah, yes."

Usually, people who head here would’ve suffered a lot after traveling in the desert for a day. Now, they were not only free from serious injuries, but they also feel like they were being a bit relaxed.

They could only stare blankly as grilled meat was placed in their hands.

They hadn’t even tasted it yet, but the warmth cut through the cold, and the aroma made their throats dry.

Why did it feel like they were on a vacation?